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Red Len and Ricky say 'Austerity - my arse'

Rebel rant by Unite leader McCluskey at Adelphi

Published on October 9th 2012.

THERE is nothing austere about the price of an Adelphi breakfast - as Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite, might be about to find out this Friday morning when he's fishing around for £11.50 in order to be granted access to the marmalade tureen.

Austerity, however is definitely on the menu the night before when the faded grandeur of the Ranelagh Place hotel becomes the setting for “Austerity – My Arse”.

This is a “rebel rant”, a lecture with table banging, maybe, being conducted by the Liverpool-born trade unionist and hosted by... well, the clue is in the title.

On the agenda are questions like Who is Austerity Britain for? Is it Us and not “Them” - the bankers and the millionaires?

Latest evidence from Chancellor George “Divide and Rule” Osbourne would seem to show the former as the have-nots await another good kicking from the Eton boy.

McCluskey will also ask: “Can the Coalition turn it round or are we all con-demned to spend the next ten years back in Orwell’s Britain of the 1930s?”

Adelphi Liverpool“Red Len” has been an active trade unionist since his first job on the docks in the 1960s. He was elected General Secretary of Unite in 2010, promising to “campaign against the devastation the Government is unleashing against working people and their communities throughout the land”.

He is also on a mission to harvest crowds for the TUC’s anti-austerity demo in London on October 20.

McCluskey will be introduced by Ricky Tomlinson, who is no stranger to a political joust, and the whole thing is being promoted by the Writing On The Wall people.

And is the Full English (pictured) worth that £11.50? Well, as Jim Royle might say...

I don’t think Len will be fishing around for £11.50 for breakfast because he’s not staying in the Adelphi. It would appear that conference room hire at the hotel is a lot better value for money than a full English. It seems like you were stung. Next time try the little cafe behind the Adelphi, near the taxi rank – not such grand surroundings but I can personally recommend their bacon and egg toasty.

I was about to suggest that der Lads go to one of those bars where drinks are served with a hint of liquid nitrogen. What happened to the days when meetings of this sort were held on the steps of St Juds?